The Morning Wire / Kentucky / Wed Aug 12, 2026

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Kentucky cattle market

The trading day in one page — Wed, Aug 12
● 6 barns reportedEvery figure as filed
← Aug 11Aug 12Aug 13 →

The market in a line

Wed, Aug 12
Choice cutout held near $372.28. 6 Kentucky barns reported 400 priced lots.

Feeder steers

Kentucky, week of Aug 10 USDA
Weighted across every reported lot, by weight class. Weekly rather than daily — one day's barns are too thin a base for a state figure. Watch the barn count: a weight class carried by one or two barns is a thin figure, not a market.
WeightPricevs prior weekHeadBarns
300-399 lb515.80/cwt$6.66 higher9718
400-499 lb475.58/cwt$13.51 higher31821
500-599 lb428.40/cwt$4.13 higher59819
600-699 lb385.89/cwt$13.47 lower1,29121
700-799 lb360.97/cwt$3.65 lower1,12720
800-899 lb341.20/cwt$8.58 lower93415

Barn by barn, 500–599 lb steers

Same day, same class USDA
Every barn that sold at least 20 head of this class on Wed, Aug 12, weighted by head. Spread of $44.18 between the top and bottom of 3 barns. An average moves with the cattle that showed up as much as with the buyers in the seats — a yard with better grade will average higher on the same demand. This is where the money landed, not a verdict on the barn.
BarnStateAverageHead
Russell Springs Livestock AuctionKY456.40/cwt113
Albany Livestock AuctionKY434.49/cwt43
Campbellsville Livestock AuctionKY412.21/cwt31

Boxed beef

National · PM close · Aug 12 USDA
Choice $372.28, $0.97 higher. Select $349.81, $0.01 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $22.47. 105 loads traded.

Fed cattle

National · Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
30,186 head traded Aug 6–Aug 12.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered376.42907
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered239.55980
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB235.103,052
KansasLive FOB235.013,681
NebraskaDressed Delivered369.046,775
NebraskaLive FOB235.0614,791

At the Kentucky barns

USDA market reporters, as filed USDA

Compared to last Wednesday: All classes of feeder cattle sold sharply higher. A much better quality feeder offering today with several weaned, pre-conditioned packages that saw strong demand from the buyers. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 higher and slaughter bulls were mostly steady.

Russell Springs Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers sold steady to 4.00 higher. Slaughter cows and bulls sold 2.00 to 4.00 lower.

Albany Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last Wednesday the feeder was mostly stronger with a good quality offering. Feeder steers 400 lbs and under were sharply higher with lite test, while the 450-600 lbs steers were steady to 5.00 higher with a moderate supply and good demand.

Mount Sterling Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last Wednesday: Feeder steers steady on a lite test, Feeder heifers steady to 5.00 higher, Good demand for feeder classes. Slaughter cows 2.00-4.00 lower, Slaughter bulls 1.00-3.00 lower, Good demand for slaughter classes.

Owenton Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)309.60/cwt$5.55 lower442
Boner (85% lean)326.64/cwt$8.16 lower1,470
Cutter (90% lean)327.88/cwt$9.90 lower2,933
Premium White321.12/cwt$3.74 lower1,641
Bull (92% lean)368.90/cwt$3.34 lower337

What published

See every report →
Every USDA report carried this date is listed in the archive.
Source: USDA AMS. Feeder prices and barn comment are Kentucky only; boxed beef, fed cattle and the cow market are national, because those markets are. Every figure is USDA's as filed, and the direction words — higher, lower, steady— follow the arithmetic rather than an opinion. Quoted comment is the work of USDA market reporters, credited to the sale it came from. This is RaisedBeef's rendering of USDA data, not a copy of USDA's document and not endorsed by USDA.